Louisiana Crawfish Production Threatened Due to Snails
Anyone have snails on their list of what could go wrong in 2021? Apparently, snails have been added to it. Don't worry, I am going to try to explain.
It's called an Apple Snail, and it was the hot pet to have in your aquarium back in the day. Well, it seems this little nomad got evicted from aquariums in Louisiana years ago and began to enjoy the weather down here. As the years passed, the little shelled thing fell in love and made a giant family for itself. Since it likes water, it slid its way into crawfish ponds in Louisiana.
It has been a problem for years, but it seems the issue is beginning to really get worse for crawfish farmers, year over year. The snails crawl into crawfish traps and clog them up. This means the crawfish can't get into the traps, and farmers just catch snails instead of the clawed crustaceans. As a result, farmers are having to drain their ponds in hopes of eliminated the snails from them.
You might be thinking it must be on the other side of the state. I did too, until I found out this is happening in Jeff Davis and Vermilion parishes. That is a touch close to home, literally. As the seasons come and go, the snails are sliding their way further north as they concentrate in SWLA. Currently, there is no solid way to keep the snails away, but experts are looking at solutions including various pesticides to eliminate the creatures. I'm just curious to see what they taste like boiled.